Building structure



Sept. so, 1947.

BUILDING STRUCTURE Filed Nov. 15, 1943 y :esmas-sheet 1 J. c. GRETTER l 2,428,154

Sept. 30, 1947.A J. c. GRETTER BUILDING STRUCTURE 2 sheets-sheet 2 Filed NOV. 15, 1943 Patented Sept. 3G, 1947 UNITED STATES LPATENT OFFICE BUILDING STRUCTURE `loseph Clemens Gretter, Norwalk, Conn. Application November 15, 1943, Serial No. 510,378

(Cl. 10S- 1) 8 Claims.

My invention relates to building structures and more particularly to the cornice construction for buildings of the character to which it may be desired to add an additional story.

Many homes and other building structures are now built with the intention of subsequently adding one or more stories thereto. Inl existing structures this can only be accomplished by breaking away substantial portions of the roofs and sides thereof with the result that the interior of the structure is exposed to the weather during the construction of the new unit.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a cornice of such construction that by merely removing a portion thereof access may be had to the top of the walls of an existing structure to enable the walls of a new story to be built thereon without disturbing other parts of the existing structure.

Important and essential features of the invention, residing in advantageous forms, combinations and relations of parts, will hereinafter appear and be specifically pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention,

Figure 1 is a perspective View, partly in section and partly in elevation, of the upper corner of a building structurev having my improved cornice.

Figure 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view of the construction illustrated in Figure 1, the cornice cap and roofing paper being omitted.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through the cornice with the side plate of the wall in elevation.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional View of the inner member of the cornice in the shape in which it is originally applied to a building construction.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective View of the strap which assists in supporting the inner member.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a portion of one of the hangers or supports for the cornice.

Figure 7 is a perspective View of another portion of one of the hangers or supports for the cornice.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of er or support for the cornice.

Figure 9 is a fragmentary perspective View of the outer member of the cornice.

Figure 10 is a fragmentary perspective view of the bar employed for securing the roofing paper to the outer member of the cornice.

For purposes of illustrating the invention, a

another hang- -at their upper ends by a wooden or frame building has been chosen but it will be apparent as the description proceeds that the invention is equally well suited for use with other kinds of buildings, such, for example, as those having metal, stone and cement walls and also for use with prefabrlcated or factory built wooden houses.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, I indicates the side wall of a wooden or frame building which has studs or uprights 2 connected plate 3. The outer side of the wall is shown as being provided with a sheathing 4 and siding 5.

Supported by the plate 3 are joists 6 which serve as a support for the roof 1. A sub-floor 8 is preferably secured to the top of the joists 6 and building paper 9 may be advantageously interposed between the sub-flooring and the roof.

The roof is preferably formed in sections of such size as may be conveniently handled by workmen. Each roof section is of ramp-like form so as to have a slope of the degree necessary to cause water to drain to the side edges of the roof. Such ramp-like sections may be conveniently formed with boards of such size as 2 x 4', 2' x 6 or 2 x 8 which are split diagonally from corner to corner, the dimension of the boards employed depending upon the slope which it is desired the roof to have. These boards are connected by suitable sheathing I I over which is laid roong paper I2 which may be preferably tarred and gravelled.

The cornice construction parts, an outer member I3, an inner member I4 and a cap i5. The outer member is designed to overlap the upper portion of the adjacent side wall of the building and to extend upwardly above the roof. Adjacent the corners of the building the outer member I3 may advantageously be firmly secured in place by a pair of brackets I6 and Il' which, in the embodiment'of the invention, may be connected to the outer end of the joists These two brackets are secured in overlapping relation to the top of the adjacent joist comprises three main l and bracket I6 has a downwardly extending por-` tion I8 which extends into an upwardly opening groove I9 formed in the lower portion of the outer member I 3 while bracket I1 has an upwardly extending portion Z0 which fits into a downwardly opening groove 2! which is provided by a reversely bent portion in the upper part of the outer member. By thus cooperating with the outer member,` the brackets I6 and I1 serve to hold it rigidly in place with its lower edge against the wall without the necessity of employing any additional connecting orA fastening means. M

The inner member I4 of the cornice comprises an inwardly extending portion 22 adapted to overlap the roof and a portion 23 which extends upwardly therefrom. The portion 23 preferably extends upwardly to the height ofthe outer member I3 and it is folded upon itself to provide two legs 24 and 25, respectively. A longitudinally extending strap 26 is interposed between the legs 24 and 25 and it, together with the leg 24, is rigidly connected by screws 28 to the upper end of an upright portion 21 of bracket I6.

The inner member I4 which is made of some flexible material, such as copper, is applied to the roof before the roofing paper I2 is put on and as originally applied it may advantageously be in the form shown in Figure 4. After the strap 26 has been inserted between the legs 24 and 25 and the strap and leg 24 have been connected to bracket I6, leg 25 is then bent inwardly into substantial parallelism with leg 24, as shown in Figure 1. To hold it in this position the outer edge of portion 22 of member I4 which is interposed between the roofing paper I2 and the roof sections 1 may be tacked or otherwise secured to the roof.

The upwardly extending portion 23 of the inner member is spaced inwardly from the outer member I3 so that an open space is provided directly above the top of the wall through which access may be had thereto. The distance between these laterally spaced portions of the cornice is suiiicient to permit materials for the walls of a new story for the existing structure to be readily inserted between them for connection to and support by the existing walls. In the particular embodiment of the invention illustrated, it will be seen that ample space is provided between the inner and outer members of the cornice through which studs (shown in dot and dash lines in Figure 2) for the walls of the new story may be inserted in order to be supported by the plate 3 and be connected to the joists E.

To close the space between the inner and. outer members of the cornice and thus render it watertight an inverted channel-shaped cap I5 having downwardly extending legs 29 is preferably employed. Before the cap is applied, however, the roong paper is preferably extended across thel space between the outer and inner members I3 and I4 and its outer edge may be advantageously secured to the outer member` by clamping it within an upturned groove 3I by a longitudinally extending bar 3| provided on its inner face with suitable teeth or roughened portions for gripping the'roong paper. The cap may be conveniently secured in place over the roong paper by screws 32 which extend through threaded openings in the bar 3l.

While it is preferred to use the brackets I6 and I1 together to secure the outer member I3 in place at the corners of the building the remainder of the member may be adequately secured by using brackets I6 on alternate joists and brackets 33 of the character illustrated in Figure 8 on the intervening joists. The bracket 33 has an upwardly extending portion 34 for cooperating with the upper portion of the outer member I3 and another upwardly extending portion 35 for attachment to the portion 23 of the inner member I4.

Water collecting on the roof may be easily drained therefrom through a conduit or pipe which at its inner end extends through suitable openings in the legs 24 and 25 of the inner member I4 and which at its outer end is connected to the upper end oi a section of a downspout 31 which is soldered or otherwise secured to the outer face of the outer member I3. The conduit 36 is preferably connected with the outer member I3 before the latter is put in place so that in assembling the cornice on the building only the inner end of the conduit need be soldered to the inner member I4.

As is plain from the foregoing, all that is required to gain access to the top of the walls of the existing structure in order to erect thereon the walls of a story to be added to the structure is to remove the cap I5 of the cornice and the portion of the roofing paper I2 which underlies the cap. The weather tightness of the structure need not be otherwise impaired during the construction of the new unit and, when that unit is made Weather-proof, the remaining parts of the cornice and the roof sections of the original structure may be removed and subsequently used again.

Such modications in details of construction as may be necessary to adapt the particular embodiment of the invention herein illustrated and described to buildings having walls of metal, stone, cement or other wooden construction will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art and are Within the purview of the invention as deiined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A building structure including walls, loists resting on top of the walls, a roof structure supported by the joists above the top of said walls, an outer plate-like member positioned beyond the adjacent ends of the joists and extending upwardly above the joists in continuation of the outer face of the wall, an inner member having a portion arranged in overlapping relation with the roof and having a portion extending upwardly above the roof inwardly of the outer ends of the joists in spaced relation to said outer member, and a cap bridging the space between said inner and outer members, said cap being removably connected to said members whereby access may be had to the top of the wall of the existing structure between said members to enable material for the wall of a new story to be supported thereon without otherwise impairing the weather tightness of the existing structure during erection of the new story.

2. A building structure including walls, joists resting on top of the walls, a roof structure supported by the joists above the top of said walls. an outer plate-like member overlapping the outside of the adjacent wall of the building and extending upwardly above the joists, an inner member constituting the roof hashing having a portion extending upwardly above the joists in approximate alignment with the inner face of said adjacent wall and in spaced relation to the outer member, said inner and outer members defining the sides of a space through which access may be had to the top of the wall, means closing the space between said inner and outer members, said means being removably connected to said members whereby without otherwise impairing the weather tightness of the existing structure access may be had to the top of said adjacent wall to enable the wall of a new story to be erected thereon.

3. A cornice construction for a building structure to which it may be desired to add a new story, said cornice construction including an outer member overlapping the outside of the adjacent wall of the building and extending upwardly above the roof thereof, an inner member having a portion arranged in overlapping relation with the roof and a portion extending upwardly from the roof inwardly of said outer member to provide an open space above the top of the adjacent wall, said inner member constituting a combined flashing and gutter, a conduit extending between the upwardly extending portion of the inner member and said outer member whereby water collecting in the gutter may be drained from the roof, and means closing the space between said inner and outer members, said means being removably connected to said members so that without otherwise impairing the weather tightness of the existing structure access may be had to the top of said adjacent wall to enable material for the wall of a new story to be erected thereon.

4. A rcornice construction for a building structure to which it may be desired to add a new story, said cornice construction including an outer member overlapping the outside of the adjacent wall of the building and eXtending upwardly above the roof, an inner member having a portion folded upon itself extending upwardly from the roof inwardly of said outer member so as to provide an open space above the top of said adjacent wall, a strap interposed between the folds of said portion of the inner member, brac-kets for supporting said inner member rigidly secured to said strap, a cap closing the space between said inner and outer members, said cap being removably connected to said members so that access may be had to the top of said adjacent wall to enable material for the wall of a new story to be erected thereon without otherwise impain'ng the weather tightness of the existing structure.

5. A cornice construction for a building structure of the type having a roof supported by joists whose outer ends rest on plates connecting the studs of the walls, said cornice construction including an outer member overlapping the outside of the adjacent wall of the building and extending upwardly above the roof, an inner member having a portion extending upwardly from the roof inwardly of said outer member to provide an open space above the plate of the adjacent wall, supporting means for said members involving a plurality of brackets having laterally spaced portions respectively cooperable with the inner and outer members, the portions of some of said brackets being cooperable with the upper part of the outer member and portions of others of said brackets being cooperable with the lower portion of the outer member so as to hold the lower edge thereof against the adjacent wall of the building, and a removable cap closing the space between said inner and outer members.

6. A cornice construction for a building structure of the type having a roof supported by joists 1( above the roof and having a longitudinally extending groove in its upper portion, an inner member having a portion extending upwardly from the roof and inwardly of said outer member to provide an open space above the plate of the adjacent wall of the building, roofing paper eX- tending across the space between the inner and outer members, means for securing the outer edge portion of the roofing paper in said groove of the outer member, and a cap fitting over the upper portion of the inner and outer members and overlyingthe adjacent part of the roofing paper.

7. A building structure including walls, joists resting on top of the walls, a roof structure supported by the joists above the top of said walls, a pair of plate-like members extending upwardly above the joists, said members being laterally spaced to provide the sides of a space above the top of the adjacent wall through which access may be had to the top of the wall, and means extending across the top of said members for closing the space between them, said means being removable so that without otherwise impairing the weather tightness of the existing structure access may be had to the top of said plate to erect a new story thereon.

8. A building structure including walls, joists resting on top of the walls, a roof structure supported by the joists above the top of said walls, plate-like means constituting a continuation of the outer face of the wall extending upwardly above the joists beyond an outer end thereof, additional plate-like means extending upwardly above the joists and inwardly of the outer end of the joists in spaced relation to said first named plate-like means, said plate-like means forming the sides of a space above the joists through which access may be had to the top of said wall, and removable means bridging the space between the top of said plate-like means for closing said space.

J. CLEMENS GRETTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,250,951 Guignon July 29, 1941 1,668,957 Fientzen May 8, 1928 2,231,775 Scott Feb. 11, 1941 2,280,647 Hawes Apr. 21, 1942 

